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WEEDS, GENE FLOW, AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Pamela C. Ronald and Raoul W. Adamchak

in Tomorrow's Table: Organic Farming, Genetics, and the Future of Food

This chapter offers a discussion of why many weeds spread invasively whereas most crops and native species do not. It also looks into pollen flow from genetically engineered crops.

Crops and Weeds: It's Hard to Be a Wild Thing When You're Domesticated

C. Neal Stewart

in Genetically Modified Planet: Environmental Impacts of Genetically Engineered Plants

There is a trend towards embracing nature and the acceptance of natural products, even though humans have altered virtually everything. A case in point is food and food crops. No natural human food ... More

There is a trend towards embracing nature and the acceptance of natural products, even though humans have altered virtually everything. A case in point is food and food crops. No natural human food exists except wild game and a few undomesticated plants. There has never been natural corn or wheat, and many vegetable crops such as carrots and Brussel sprouts are recent inventions of crop domestication. Transgenic crops seem transformative since they possess one or two genes from a different species. The process of gene introduction takes place in the lab using biotechnology, but traditional breeding and domestication drastically alter genomes of plants relative to biotechnology, since hundreds to thousands of genes are manipulated in hybridization. Like those of crops, genomes of weeds are also selected and adapted for growth in farmer’s fields. Human and natural selection are powerful forces.Less

Stop Evolution Now!

R. Ford Denison

in Darwinian Agriculture: How Understanding Evolution Can Improve Agriculture

This chapter considers ongoing evolution, particularly as it relates to control of agricultural pests. It begins with a discussion of how weeds evolved resistance to herbicides, focusing on the case ... More

This chapter considers ongoing evolution, particularly as it relates to control of agricultural pests. It begins with a discussion of how weeds evolved resistance to herbicides, focusing on the case of watergrass. It then examines the high dose/refuge strategy for slowing the evolution of pesticide resistance, along with the experience of Australian cotton farmers with this approach. It shows that cooperation among Australian cotton farmers was key to the relatively successful management of Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) resistance. The chapter also explores two different ways in which nature can serve as a source of ideas for improving pest control in agriculture: comparing natural ecosystems and studying the pest-defense strategies of individual wild plants.Less

Orchids and Conservation

John Alcock

in An Enthusiasm for Orchids: Sex and Deception in Plant Evolution

This chapter summarizes the many reasons the conservation of orchids in Australia will not be easy. Among the problems confronting those who would protect Australia’s glorious orchids are habitat ... More

This chapter summarizes the many reasons the conservation of orchids in Australia will not be easy. Among the problems confronting those who would protect Australia’s glorious orchids are habitat loss, damage from livestock, invasive weeds, dieback from fungal disease, and the salinization of the land. Although the list of problems is large and daunting, there have been some success stories, and these are recounted.Less

Seeds of Destruction: Conflagration in the Grain Stores of Dichin

P. GRINTER

in The Transition to Late Antiquity, on the Danube and Beyond

This chapter reviews the preliminary results and methodology used in the archaeobotanical research programme at Dichin, a multi-period late Roman site in Bulgaria. The remarkable state of ... More

This chapter reviews the preliminary results and methodology used in the archaeobotanical research programme at Dichin, a multi-period late Roman site in Bulgaria. The remarkable state of preservation of in situ deposits, especially from the destruction level dating to the end of the fifth century, provided an ideal opportunity to integrate fully the process of excavation with the recovery and examination of the seed material in order to research, not just the agricultural economy of the site, but also to reconstruct the spatial distribution of the finds and their association within particular buildings (granaries, store-buildings and living accommodation). Archaeological excavations were carried out at Dichin between 1996 and 2001. The excavations targeted defences, gateways, buildings and a road revealed by remote survey. Many of the buildings within the area were used for storing cereals and pulses. In addition, the lack of weed seeds or processing waste indicates that the crops were all at the final stage of processing and were in storage prior to distribution or use.Less

Introduction

Matthew S. Seligmann

in Spies in Uniform: British Military and Naval Intelligence on the Eve of the First World War

The period before the First World War saw a great deal of military and naval activity. Weapons were developed, enemies were identified, arms races were started, and war plans were hatched. All of the ... More

The period before the First World War saw a great deal of military and naval activity. Weapons were developed, enemies were identified, arms races were started, and war plans were hatched. All of the powers that partook in these activities required a regular flow of intelligence about their potential opponents. In Britain's case, the country about which it most needed information was Germany. This was largely supplied by the army and navy's ‘men on the spot’, the military and naval attachés. Owing to the destruction of much of the British defence archive, little is known about their activities. This introductory chapter outlines why these papers were subject to ‘weeding’, as their destruction was called, and explains how it is possible, through an examination of private papers and the records of other government departments, to locate many missing reports and to recreate a picture of what the service attachés reported.Less

The Use of Agricultural Techniques in Medieval England

David Stone

in Decision-Making in Medieval Agriculture

The Wisbech accounts indicate that medieval farmers employed yield-raising techniques, such as legume cultivation, weeding, and the spreading of manure, only when it was in their interests to do so. ... More

The Wisbech accounts indicate that medieval farmers employed yield-raising techniques, such as legume cultivation, weeding, and the spreading of manure, only when it was in their interests to do so. It explores the broader ramifications of this point and argues that demesne evidence of declining yields in the early 14th century does not imply an ecological crisis, for inputs were often scaled down as prices dropped. Likewise, falling yields in the later Middle Ages were caused primarily by the deliberate reduction of such techniques; even extra manure was simply too expensive to spread. The chapter goes on to discuss geographical and social variations in the intensity of medieval agriculture; controversially, it argues that land productivity on peasant smallholdings may generally have exceeded that on demesne farms. It concludes that conscious choices and decisions played a major role in shaping economic trends and patterns in this and other ages.Less

“God Save Us from Whig Vice Presidents”

Michael F. Holt

in The Rise and Fall of the American Whig Party: Jacksonian Politics and the Onset of the Civil War

When Millard Fillmore signed the Compromise measures in September 1850 and the New York Democratic state platform endorsed them, William Henry Seward's New York allies instructed Thurlow Weed that ... More

When Millard Fillmore signed the Compromise measures in September 1850 and the New York Democratic state platform endorsed them, William Henry Seward's New York allies instructed Thurlow Weed that the Whig party's state platform must demand revision or repeal of every prosouthern concession Congress had made. Fillmore's pro-Compromise stance must be publicly repudiated. Five days after New York's Whigs met, Daniel Webster penned the administration's response to this declaration of war. He understood why many northern Whigs opposed the compromise measures in Congress. These salvos opened a battle between Fillmore's administration and its northern Whig critics that lasted from the fall of 1850 to the Whigs' national convention in June 1852. Fundamentally, however, it revolved around a dispute over how to carry elections, about whether the campaign needs of local Whigs should be placed ahead of intersectional comity within the nation and the national party and of support for the national administration.Less

The Madison Valley Ranchlands Group

Thomas E. Sheridan

in Stitching the West Back Together: Conservation of Working Landscapes

The mostly privately held, 925,000-acre Madison Valley is located just northwest of Yellowstone National Park in southern Montana. In 1996, area ranchers concerned about rising land prices, stagnant ... More

The mostly privately held, 925,000-acre Madison Valley is located just northwest of Yellowstone National Park in southern Montana. In 1996, area ranchers concerned about rising land prices, stagnant cattle prices, predator animal and invasive plant species concerns, and pressure from environmental interests to end grazing on public lands formed the non-profit Madison Valley Ranchlands Group. By collaborating with government agencies, hunters, absentee ranch owners, and environmental groups, the organization has tackled these issues through educational workshops, range protection programs, and other multi-stakeholder dialogues and activities. Among its successes, about 36 percent of the valley’s private lands are now protected in conservation easements, Madison County has adopted a growth-policy action plan, and significant efforts are underway to control noxious invasive weeds.Less

What Is a Weed?

John A. Stempien and John Linstrom (eds)

in The Liberty Hyde Bailey Gardener's Companion: Essential Writings

Bailey gives his final summation of the much maligned term, "weed," redeeming the plants often dismissed as weeds by gardeners. Again referring to Emerson's definition of a weed as "a plant out of ... More

Bailey gives his final summation of the much maligned term, "weed," redeeming the plants often dismissed as weeds by gardeners. Again referring to Emerson's definition of a weed as "a plant out of place," Bailey flips the question and asks "whether a plant is ever out of place except when cultivated."Less

White Clover

John A. Stempien and John Linstrom (eds)

in The Liberty Hyde Bailey Gardener's Companion: Essential Writings

This poem on the white clover further defines the idea of a weed for someone possessed of the garden-sentiment. "If only its name were all forgot / And 'twere giv'n its chance to grow," the white ... More

This poem on the white clover further defines the idea of a weed for someone possessed of the garden-sentiment. "If only its name were all forgot / And 'twere giv'n its chance to grow," the white clover would be appreciated as a flower rather than maligned as a weed, the poem asserts.Less

The Dandelion

John A. Stempien and John Linstrom (eds)

in The Liberty Hyde Bailey Gardener's Companion: Essential Writings

This essay presents a sensory but also botanical description and appreciation of the common and often maligned spring dandelion. In Bailey's depiction, the dandelions appear like gold coins ... More

This essay presents a sensory but also botanical description and appreciation of the common and often maligned spring dandelion. In Bailey's depiction, the dandelions appear like gold coins beautifying the lawn rather than weeds marring it.Less

Molly and Matilda: Old Savannah Specters

Tiya Miles

in Tales From the Haunted South: Dark Tourism and Memories of Slavery from the Civil War Era

This chapter recounts the rise of Savannah, Georgia as a key tourist attraction for visitors interested in the paranormal. The chapter focuses on the Sorrel-Weed House, reportedly Savannah’s most ... More

This chapter recounts the rise of Savannah, Georgia as a key tourist attraction for visitors interested in the paranormal. The chapter focuses on the Sorrel-Weed House, reportedly Savannah’s most haunted abode, to examine how stories of race, gender, and sexual improprieties during slavery drive “dark tourism” ventures today. It connects this analysis to historical context about black slaves, free blacks, and Haitian immigrants in 1830s-1860s Savannah.Less

A Novel Method of Weed Control

Pete A. Ensminger

in Life Under the Sun

Photosynthesis involves biological energy transduction, the transformation of light energy into chemical energy, and photosensory pigments, which play an important role in the process. Phytochrome, a ... More

Photosynthesis involves biological energy transduction, the transformation of light energy into chemical energy, and photosensory pigments, which play an important role in the process. Phytochrome, a photosensory pigment, regulates plant growth and development. This chapter explores research works on light-induced seed germination and the role of phytochrome to regulate plant growth and development, including seed germination. Pioneering work by Hendricks and colleagues looked at photo-reversible phytochrome responses. The use of herbicides to control weeds and the adverse affects of weeds on the environment and public health are discussed. With the persistent use of herbicides, over time weeds have developed resistance, a resurgence, and eventual replacement. The evolution of herbicide-resistant weeds and the harmful effects of herbicides lead to the development of an integrated weed-management program. Plowing presents a simple and effective method of weed control. The emergence of nighttime plowing to control weeds and its limitations are also presented.Less

Framing Farming: A Multi-stranded Approach to Early Agricultural Practice in Europe

Amy Bogaard

in Early Farmers: The View from Archaeology and Science

This chapter considers how the integration of different methodological approaches to crop growing conditions—stable isotope analysis of crop remains and ecological analysis of associated weeds—can ... More

This chapter considers how the integration of different methodological approaches to crop growing conditions—stable isotope analysis of crop remains and ecological analysis of associated weeds—can refine social interpretations of Neolithic farming practice. Plant isotope values also constrain palaeodietary interpretation of humans and animals. Case studies from south-east, central and north-west Europe contribute to an assessment of diversity in the Neolithic. Often characterised as small-scale and labour-intensive, significant variation in early farming regimes existed even across the arable landscapes of individual settlements. Different communities developed distinct solutions to the problem of limited labour, manure and crop diversity. The absolute dietary importance of crops in early farming diets can only be assessed by taking actual stable isotope values of associated crop remains into account; initial results suggest that crop values were affected to varying extents by manuring, leading to the role of crops systematically under-estimated in standard palaeodietary interpretation.Less

The Threats to Food Security

Gordon Conway, Ousmane Badiane, and Katrin Glatzel

in Food for All in Africa: Sustainable Intensification for African Farmers

This chapter explores threats to food security. It reveals many challenges arising from a range of threats external to the farm household, including severe biological threats from pests, disease, and ... More

This chapter explores threats to food security. It reveals many challenges arising from a range of threats external to the farm household, including severe biological threats from pests, disease, and weeds. Moreover, healthy, fertile soils are the cornerstone of food security and rural livelihoods, but African soils are degrading. Water is just as important for the productivity of plants, and lack of water leads to chronic and acute stress. Indeed, Africa is already battling the impacts of climate change. Rising temperatures and variable rainfall are increasing the exposure of smallholders to drought, famine, and disease. Agriculture is an important emitter of greenhouse gases (GHGs), not only carbon dioxide but also such powerful gases as methane and nitrous oxide. In addition, there are often severe socioeconomic challenges, including unstable and high prices of basic commodities. Finally, conflicts cause disruption to food security.Less

The Weed Macaque

Dario Maestripieri

in Macachiavellian Intelligence: How Rhesus Macaques and Humans Have Conquered the World

There are nineteen different species of rhesus macaque (scientific name: Macaca mulatta). The real macaques belong to a group of primates called Old World monkeys because they are found only in ... More

There are nineteen different species of rhesus macaque (scientific name: Macaca mulatta). The real macaques belong to a group of primates called Old World monkeys because they are found only in Africa and Asia, in contrast to New World monkeys, which live in Central and South America. The evolutionary history of macaques is a textbook case of what biologists call an adaptive radiation—a process by which organisms colonize new environments, adapt to the local conditions, and diversify into different species. A key component of rhesus macaques' success has been their ability to adapt to changes in the environment induced by people and to people themselves. A few years ago, some primatologists proposed to call those species that have successfully adapted to human presence “weed macaques,” because rhesus macaques share some characteristics with weeds. This chapter focuses on the evolution and geographical distribution of rhesus macaques. It also looks at their introduction to an island in the Caribbean in the mid-1930s by the American biologist Clarence Ray Carpenter, as well as their use in biomedical research.Less

Climate Change, Agriculture, and Famine

Alan H. Lockwood

in Heat Advisory: Protecting Health on a Warming Planet

Hotter weather and higher atmospheric CO2 levels will have profound effects on plants. Crops such as corn and soybeans, have critical temperature thresholds above which yields fall precipitously. ... More

Hotter weather and higher atmospheric CO2 levels will have profound effects on plants. Crops such as corn and soybeans, have critical temperature thresholds above which yields fall precipitously. High CO2 levels will foster the growth of many weeds over crops, threatening yields. Stimulated growth and release of ragweed allergens will threaten hay fever sufferers and asthmatics. The nutrient content of many crops falls in a high CO2 environment. As crop yields fall, prices rise, and undernutrition increases, particularly among children who fail to develop normally who, as a result, may not achieve normal intelligence. In many nations, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, childhood undernutrition already approaches 50%. Feeding the increasing population of the world may become problematic.Less